On September 14, 2022, Jim Ambuske (of Mount Vernon) and Jeanette Patrick (from George Mason University) joined us to discuss their widely acclaimed podcast Intertwined about the enslaved community at Mount Vernon. In their discussion with Jenna Owens (of Monticello), they examined how the American Revolution complicated George Washington’s own relationship with slavery, created opportunities for enslaved people to embrace the fullest implications of Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence through self-emancipation, and informed Washington’s decision to free those enslaved people he owned outright in his will. Drawing on their experience with producing Intertwined, they will also discuss the possibilities for communicating complex stories about slavery at places like Monticello and Mount Vernon to wide audiences using the podcast format.
Watch the Recording »
About the Speakers
Jeanette Patrick
Jeanette Patrick is Head of R2 Studios, the podcast division of the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University. She is the former Digital Projects Editor in the Center for Digital History at the Washington Library. She researches and writes original content that presents history to the public in many different forms. Patrick also works with her colleagues to transform their research into digital content. She is the former manager of the history and preservation content on the Mount Vernon website. She holds an MA in Public History from James Madison University.
Jim Ambuske
Jim Ambuske, Ph.D., leads the Center for Digital History at the Washington Library. A historian of the American Revolution, Scotland, and the British Atlantic World, Ambuske graduated from the University of Virginia in 2016. He is a former Farmer Postdoctoral Fellow in Digital Humanities at the University of Virginia Law Library. At UVA Law, Ambuske co-directed the 1828 Catalogue Project and the Scottish Court of Session Project. He is currently at work on a book about emigration from Scotland in the era of the American Revolution and is a 2022 Research Fellow at ICJS.
Jenna Owens
Jenna Owens is the Getting Word African American Oral History Project Intern at Monticello. Owens graduated from the University of Virginia in 2021 receiving her Bachelor’s Degree in African and African American Studies and Studio Art. In addition to her Getting Word work, Owens has worked as a tour guide and historical interpreter at Monticello. She has also worked with the Digital Archeological Archive of Comparative Slavery (DAACS). Owens is currently working on continuing research on the enslaved community of Monticello, where they were dispersed following Jefferson’s death, and ongoing relationships with the descendants of the enslaved peoples who labored at Monticello.